Howard was born in Fort Worth, TX on September 15, 1932. His parents were Howard N Gay, Sr. and Mildred Young Gay. Soon after, they moved to Wichita Falls where they lived until Mildred died when Howard was 6 yrs old. His grandmother, who had already raised 4 sons, took on the task of raising Howard, along with his dad, and they moved to Iowa Park.

Howard graduated from high school in Iowa Park and then went on to graduate from Midwestern University with a degree in accounting. Later, he received his MBA from North Texas University. His favorite story was about his time at Midwestern. His high school had no music program so he had never had the opportunity to sing in a chorus or play in a band. The plea went out for anyone who could play an instrument to join the band, which was primarily a marching band. They had lost many students to the armed forces as this was during the Korean war. Howard bought an old, junk trombone – took lessons for two months and joined the university band. It was a highlight of his college days and began his lifetime love for music.

He spent a year working for a CPA in Wichita Falls before being drafted into the Army. He wound up in the Army Audit Agency and was eventually sent to Minneapolis. He always said he went overseas when he crossed the Red River. Shortly after arriving in Minneapolis, he attended a Sunday evening program at a Methodist church, where he met Marilyn who was also attending for the first time. They always felt that God had a plan for them to meet that night as they soon fell in love. They married in Wisconsin on January 7, 1956 and after his discharge from the army they moved to Wichita Falls, where his employer had held his job open for him. During the time he spent in the service he was able to pass his CPA exams and found out he had earned the CPA shortly after the wedding. The best wedding gift of all as it assured him of a career.

In 1958 they moved to Dallas, where he worked for a CPA firm for 4 years. Then he spent 14 years at Industrial Woodworking Machine Co. in Garland, where they wound up buying a house. He started as a financial manager and later became general manager of the company. During this time, three children arrived to complete their family: Daniel, Steven and Laura. Later, Laura became the parent of their twograndchildren, Kristen and Kevin.

While they were living in Wichita Falls, they were members of the First United Methodist Church and decided to join the choir. They had to audition for it and Howard had never sung in a choir. He was allowed to join with the understanding that if it didn’t work out he wouldn’t get mad and leave the church. Howard’s first experience with singing in a choir was learning the Brahm’s Requiem, which became his favorite piece of classical music. He continued to sing in choirs until a few years ago and that was always one of his favorite church activities. He also sang in the Mesquite Civic Chorus and the Jim Henderson Garland Chorale. His love for music encouraged him to belong to the Garland Cultural Arts Commission, of which he was still a member at the time of his death. He found out about recorders (the musical instruments) during the 1980s, and he and Marilyn learned to play them and joined the Dallas Recorder Society. They occasionally went to workshops called “Texas Toot” and made many wonderful friends, as well as learning more about the instruments. Howard was often frustrated at not having a huge, musical talent, but he could play well enough to enjoy playing with others. He did find out that he had no talent for stringed instruments, to his dismay. They also belonged to the Dallas Folk Music Society for quite a few years.

During the late 1970s they moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where they lived for two years before moving back to Garland. In 1980 he established his own CPA practice in Garland. It wasn’t intentional, but he wound up doing the biggest share of his accounting in the restaurant field. Marilyn worked with him doing payrolls. It was always fun to go and visit clients, many of whom served Mexican food. He was on the board of the Dallas Restaurant Association and was treasurer for them. That gave him a good source of new clients. He sold the biggest part of his practice in 2005 intending to cut back to part-time. That didn’t happen, as he continued to work with just enough clients to keep him busy.

In 2008 they moved to Chambrel Senior Living – which later became Brookdale Club Hill. He continued to work until 2012 when he was the recipient of a large retirement and 80th birthday party. For the past six years he has been a member of the resident council, serving during that time as president and treasurer.

A recent volunteer job has been with Hearts and Hands Food Pantry – a ministry of Axe Mem UMC. He felt it was an important part of his life and was a real help to people.

Other highlights of his life included several trips to Europe. The entire family spent a month in 1972 on a camping trip to the Netherlands, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries. Several years later, Howard and Marilyn took her mother to Norway, where she was able to see where her parents grew up. In 1999 Howard and Marilyn went to Ireland, England and Scotland. The two younger children moved to the west coast after college and provided some nice vacation spots. Steve moved to Seattle where he met and married Kim Sloan. Laura went to Santa Barbara, CA and married Steve Gowdy. Dan, fortunately, stayed in the area and is living near Wylie with Cindy Dicken.

Howard became a fan of professional baseball after his grandson, Kevin, became very proficient at pitching and was drafted last year by the Phillies. Kristen majored in sports journalism in college and is now living in Lake Placid, NY where she is working for the Olympic Bobsled team. Howard and Marilyn have been very proud of their entire family – all successful in their fields and in their lives.In lieu of flowers, please send memorials for Hearts and Hands ministry in care of Axe Memorial United Methodist Church 1700 West Kingsley Road Garland, Texas 75041.